Self-Introspection, Stars, and a Change

In my room, I flipped through several diaries, reading them quickly but thoroughly in silence. [...Ai Hoshino, Miyako Saitou, Shina Mahiru, Mafuyu Kirisu, Chitoge Kirisaki, Kosaki Onodera, Seishirou Tsugumi, Shouko Komi. That's eight.]

I took a bite of my homemade cake while thinking things over.

I don't have to worry about the lack of storage space to house them because they reside somewhere invisible yet tangible, one that I can summon at will thanks to the System. [Why?] Is this one of those plot conveniences? 

(It's a company's secret)

"What?"

Anyway, my relationship with them was mostly favorable, with the rest being at least neutral. 

Ai, Mahiru, Kirisaki, Tsugumi, and Komi are my friends. That's five out of eight heroine. While they might still not be considered close friends, I could simply depend on time, or outright alterations to their diaries to bring about a change. 

Currently, Onodera was only a classmate, but based on her nature, it wouldn't require any inconvenient methods to get close to her. 

Kirisu-sensei holds a positive view of me, to say the least. Having said that, our relationship as student and teacher, and our considerable age difference, is a particular problem. Same goes for Miyako, who is currently the most distant from my reach. [There's an event on the weekend with her, so that might change things.]

Frankly, I was only feeling bored now. I thought a thing called System would make it interesting, but sadly, it was not. Not yet, at least. [But I'm not patient enough to wait…!]

Staring at the neglected files on the document website, I felt unmotivated to write stories due to these developments. [Will my school life remain as bland as before?] I wondered with a frown, sniffing. [If there is someone who reads my present narrative, they might feel the same way.]

[That said, not only them, but I myself want some prospect of trouble— okay, that sounds weird— what I mean is, I need some "fun", where I'm not stuck as a spectator most of the time.]

I glanced at the faint golden diary that had a slight sheen to it, with a sun pattern along with some sort of fine threads coming out from all around it. It belonged to Mahiru, and I had no idea what the symbol meant. All I knew was that all the diaries seemed to be designed according to my impression of their "if" diaries, which were similarly built from my impression of their characters. A bit convoluted, I know, but that's how it is.

I checked the wall clock in my room. There was still some time before I had to meet with Tsugumi. And after that, I had an appointment with Ai. 

I went back to looking at Mahiru's diary. [She still hadn't fully opened up to me.] I could wait for time to do the work, but then, I thought of an idea, one that could spice up the plot. [...That could probably work.]

I faintly smirked (not evilly). [—right, let's create a bit of chaos.]

***

At Fairre Park—whatever the hell that means.

It was an open space with a predominantly whitish concrete surface and a good number of fine fountains and trees along the way. 

It was a fairly popular spot in Hoshizora District— where I was living now— a part of Hoshikawa City, the center of Yusei Prefecture located in northeastern Japan.

(A/N: Yes, it's all fiction.)

[They're all stars...] I thought as I realized that fact. 

Hoshi means a star. Hoshizora can be literally translated as starry sky, while Hoshikawa is starry river, and there's also Hoshino which means field of stars (or of/from stars?). Oh, and Yusei, the name of the prefecture, means "eternal star" or "magnificent star".

[Guess it's because the prefecture is l known for its star observatories.] I mused.

It looks like a flag. 

While I was thinking about all those stars, Tsugumi had arrived.

"Y-Yoshikawa-kun," she called out with a timid tone.

When I turned to look at her, my brows shot up in surprise.

She was wearing a subdued dark patterned midi skirt, a blouse with pastel-colored lace trim, a cardigan in the coordinating color of her skirt, and a pair of shoes with a slight heel. She was also wearing earrings and bracelets I didn't notice before. All in all, it was a feminine outfit for the tomboyish Tsugumi.

I had a light patterned shirt and brown chinos on. I wore a mild blazer as well. As for my shoes, they were practical, and the only accessory on my body was a watch.

"I-Is it looking weird?" Tsugumi inquired rather anxiously.

I quickly realized that I hadn't said anything for a few seconds— a rude of me.

"No, not at all," I put my thumb up with a bright smile. "You look really cute in that outfit."

"R-Really?" she smiled.

"Yep. I personally love it."

"Ehehe," for a brief second, she was grinning in glee, but immediately covered her face with her hands. "—urk. W-Well, I-I'm glad to hear it from Yoshikawa-kun. Although I wasn't the one who chose most of these… Ojou was the one who did, you know?"

"Oh, yeah? Looks like you're used to manly clothes, huh?"

She nodded stiffly. "It's weird, isn't it?"

"There are all kinds of people," I said. "Those words probably don't help much, but I don't think many people mind your changes so much either. You're just thinking too much about other people's reactions, which while normal, isn't great to think about deeply. Most of them wouldn't care. For the reason, that'll be long to say, so, do you have social media?"

"Huh?" To my question, Tsugumi looked a little confused. "Um, I have a cell phone, but I don't remember making one. Why did Yoshikawa-kun ask that?"

I nodded. "I just thought that if you have followers on certain social media— especially your acquaintances— you could upload a photo of your current appearance and ask their opinions. I'm sure many people would like it. It's so that you can stop feeling unconfident."

"...Yoshikawa-kun really thinks I'm great in this outfit?"

"Yes," I answered confidently. "If you want, I can do it for you now. I have the followers of most of our classmates."

She mulled it over. 

"...I'm curious."

"Great," I reply with satisfaction. "Since we're still in the park, let's take the best photo for you here."

"A-Alright," she awkwardly responded.

I chuckled. "You can stand in front of the fountain. You can also take a simple pose, looking at the camera while smiling, your hand clutching that little bag of yours."

"Will that be enough?"

"I'm not one who likes to take a lot of pictures myself, but I know the basics. If you have something better, you can change the pose."

"Uh, I'll take it according to Yoshikawa-kun," she smiled wryly. "I'm not very experienced with this either."

And so she did.

There were a number of people around the fountain, but with the focusing of the camera, they wouldn't be distracting.

I opened my Insta and used the camera feature provided to get a photo of Tsugumi.

"Ready?" I asked.

She nodded while smiling a little embarrassedly. "I'm ready."

She did the pose I suggested in an instant. I gave a count of "3, 2, 1" and took a photo of her. Looking at the result, I was quite proud.

"How did it go?" she asked a little anxiously.

I smiled dryly. "Come here. I think it's good."

She did it in a rush and stood beside me, looking at the result with quite a bit of interest.

"That's... not bad," she muttered. "Yoshikawa-kun sure can take good pictures, huh?"

"Heh, this is still the basics. I wouldn't know too much about all the other types."

Depending on the angle, the results can be much different and better, but I'm not that great to know how they could be done perfectly. I'm not interested in finding out either.

"I'll post it."

"Alright."

I proceeded to the next stage, gave a simple caption about Tsugumi's appearance, and uploaded it.

"Let's continue our destination here to begin with," I said right after. "The post notifications are active, so I'll let you know their thoughts while we shop for clothes for you."

"Right," she smiled sweetly.